


Informed Catastrophe

by hopeyoustay



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - No Sparrow Academy (Umbrella Academy), David "Dave" Katz Lives, Fix-It, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Homophobic Language, Immortal Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, M/M, POV David "Dave" Katz, Period-Typical Homophobia, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Softie David "Dave" Katz, Telekinetic Klaus Hargreeves, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26399887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeyoustay/pseuds/hopeyoustay
Summary: Dave remembers the hippie cult leader that had his name on a pair of dog tags around his neck. Remembers punching him in the face, remembers the immediate regret. Now the same man is sprawled on the ground before him in the middle of a war zone, visibly younger, wearing nothing but his own blood and a grimy towel.(AKA: A David Katz who remembers Klaus from the 60's fucks up an alternate timeline in the best way possible.)
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz, Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 20
Kudos: 464





	Informed Catastrophe

Chapter One: **Warzone**

* * *

When Dave loaded the bus, he was half expecting the crazy hippie with neat hair to turn up and pull him to salvation. 

He didn't.

Klaus never showed up. His sister was the only one who bothered to see him off, crying fat tears as she hugged him goodbye. His dad was busy at the shop with his uncle, and his mom was in another state with her family. Lori, who worked at a local seamstress during the summer months before returning home in Wisconsin for school in the fall, was all he had. She was so obviously terrified of losing him and it broke his heart. So he kissed her cheek, patted her on the head, and promised he'd be back. It felt like a lie, and it was one if what Klaus had said turned out to be true.

He'd gone over that encounter a thousand times in his head, he mused as he stared out the bus window and watched crying families say goodbye to their loved ones. The dog tags were what always got him. No one went to that much trouble to recruit some dumb twenty-four-year-old kid into a cult. Besides that, his full name had been engraved. David Michael Katz, carved into the metal. He'd seen it himself. He'd also been scarily accurate about Dune, for that matter. The day over half a year ago when Dave had passed by a bookstore and seen the new release his heart had just nearly stopped. He bought it on a whim and, yeah, it was outta sight. Definitely his favorite.

After that day, he'd spent nearly half a year looking for the strange cult leader right up until he shipped off for basic training. It was like he'd vanished completely; even the mansion he'd used to reside in with hundreds of others laid barren and empty. Then he saw his picture on the news, proclaiming him a cultist and tax evader and somehow tied up with his brothers and sisters who were trying to kill the president? Dave wasn't too solid on the details if he was honest, but it made sense for Klaus to be wrapped up in some kind of chaos and the disappear. He'd just hoped...

What he'd been hoping doesn't matter. He'd signed on for the war of his own free will, albeit he was nudged in that direction by both his father and his uncle. He had no one to blame but himself. Still, he wished he could give the other man a proper apology, one that didn't end in Dave furiously storming off. 

The bus engine roared to life, and he waved out the window at his sister one last time. His next destination was Vietnam, but when he closed his eyes and laid his head against the seat cushion, he thought about long hair and pretty green eyes. He...definitely had a crush. On a tax-evading cult leader who could apparently time travel.

Not the best choice he'd ever made and if anyone found out his uncle and father would beat him bloody but...still. It was there. It existed. He acknowledged that it existed. Sadly said crush had disappeared into thin air and he'd probably never see Klaus again. He wrapped a hand around his dog tags, remembering the matching set that had hung around the hippie's throat.

* * *

Vietnam was just as bleak as the media said it was. 

They arrived during the dry season, smack in the middle of March, and the insects were out in swarms. Heavy uniforms were suffocating and his shoulders ached from carrying his pack during long marches through the dense jungle and mucky swamps. The steel helmet made his brain feel like it was slowly cooking in his skull, and it was an insect magnet to boot. Just the weather was enough to make him wish he'd never agreed to this, honestly, why _did_ he agree to this?

Then, on the same day as their arrival, they were thrown to the wolves. Immediately the fighting began, and the thought of killing anyone made his stomach turn. He was frozen in fear the first few hours, holding up his gun in the mimicry of a soldier and never firing a single shot. He got into the grim groove of things eventually and after only a week he was exhausted and on edge. Where was there any glory in this? His father and uncle had said he'd be a hero, he would fight for their country and their freedoms. All Dave saw was pointless killing and the grandeur surrounding the military and the war slowly crumbled. He saw this in the other men that were with him, as well. Those drafted and enlistees alike, they all slowly realized that maybe the Doves were onto something because this...this was Hell.

It was thirteen months of feeling like a living corpse when, all of a sudden, he jolted awake. He wasn't quite sure why, and looking around he found everyone else in the tent was still asleep. Then there was a bright flash of blue light, so startling Dave thought a land mine had gone off, but when his vision cleared he found himself squinting at none other than Klaus Hargreeves himself. His hair was shorter than it was back when he first met him; it curled around the edges instead of falling in softer waves. Good grief, Dave really sounded like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

Wide eyes blinked up at him and in the dark he couldn't see clearly, but Dave knew they were green. Something dark was smudged around the edges, and he had huge bags beneath them than made it look like he hadn't slept in a week. Dave could relate. He trembled a bit, holding what looked like a briefcase close to his chest, and there was no recognition in his eyes. This Klaus had never met Dave; this wasn't Klaus coming back to save him, this was Klaus who had no idea what he was doing or where he was and had somehow stumbled into the middle of the Vietnam War. So when a superior officer came in barking orders, because suddenly they were under attack, Dave scrambled to get Klaus clothed and armed. 

He wouldn’t lie, he felt protective of the man. He didn’t look half as much like a hippie cult leader without the hair and extravagant clothes, but he had the same haunted look in his eyes. So, on the bus, Dave offered him a hand.

”Name’s David, call me Dave.” He smiled at the other, watching green eyes get big.

”Klaus.”

”You just get in country?” Dave asked, sending him a curious look. He wasn’t sure how much Klaus wanted him to know at this point, seeing as in his point of view they’d never met before.

”Uh, yeah. It’s...” Klaus trailed off, seemingly dazed.

”Yeah. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

Klaus gave him a small smile, even though he was dazed and his pupils were dilated. Dave wasn’t sure if he was just in shock, or if he was on something. It’d fit the bill pretty well, after all. Hippies were notorious for that sort of thing, as were cults. Dave just hoped he could come down from the withdrawals okay; there wasn’t exactly a dealer available in the middle of a war zone. Until you reach Saigon, drugs and alcohol were pretty scarce outside what the men smuggled back for their personal stashes.

Still, he returned the smile and remained sitting by Klaus for the rest of the ride. Even if he did die, as morbid as it was, he was glad he got to meet him again.

* * *

Klaus fit in well, all things considered. The other men in the regiment didn’t quite know what to make of him, and he was pretty sure most of them assumed the stranger was just an escaped prisoner of war. Their superior officers had a need of bodies that could hold guns, though, so no questions were asked. They ended up patrolling together, taking watch together, and slowly Klaus started opening up.

He was far jumpier than Dave remembered, for one thing. This younger Klaus had none of the faux confidence his older self did; his eyes constantly darted around, not quite looking at people but rather past them. He was also scarily accurate at predicting attacks, and he’d saved more than a few of their asses. He was dead quiet when he moved, too, and him being so light on his feet didn’t help the matter. He’d scared the absolute shit out of Dave more than once all while wearing a small, cheeky smile.

They'd all nicknamed him Ghost. Klaus didn’t seem too keen on the nickname, but still smiled when Dave heckled him about it.

He also learned a hell of a lot about Klaus’ family. Dave remembered them from the news; the apparent Russia spy Vanya, the civil rights activist Allison, the huge hulking man whose name was Luther, the guy who escaped from a mental asylum named Diego, and the little boy the news said they’d kidnapped whose name was Five. He’d wanted to ask about the name, but refrained. Klaus also mentioned someone named Ben, who Dave wasn’t aware of and was also pretty much the only sibling Klaus spoke fondly of. Apparently he was a real nag, always wanting Klaus sober and, what seemed like to Dave, safe.

Dave liked Ben already. When he said as much, Klaus just groaned.

”Ugh, remind me to never introduce you. Ben is awful enough on his own.”

”You think I could be awful?” Dave raised an eyebrow, feigning offense, enjoying watching the other man sputter slightly.

The one thing he’d learned about Klaus was that he was flirty until he got flirted with. Or at least that was Dave’s experience. He had a game in his head why he tried to make the other blush as much as humanly possible. It was a tough one, because Klaus was honestly about as raunchy as a man could get, but he still managed it sometimes just by saying nice things and small touches that could be read as affection. He’d tucked the mans hair behind his ear once when it’d grown out a bit more and he thought the other would explode with how red his ears got.

Clearly meaningless flirting and sex was one thing to him, but Dave wasn’t sure how much affection Klaus had actually gotten in his life. It worried him a little, if he was honest.

Dave had 6 months left of his life when they breaked in Saigon, staying for a couple weeks on leave. He wasn’t keen on wasting any more time and, at a bar, he kissed Klaus for the first time.

It had been an impulse decision. They’d both been drinking probably a little too much and, under the haze of smoke from cigarettes in the seedy little joint, Dave felt as safe as he possibly could be kissing another man in public. The curtain just slightly hid them from the others, but it was enough that when Klaus’ eyes dropped to look at Dave’s lips, he leaned forward a bit. Klaus seemed to take the hint and, in an extremely graceless motion, nearly smacked their faces together, but Dave accepted the kiss with vigor.

Klaus was pliable under him, but still eager and kissed with just as much force as Dave did. They stumbled into a back ally and Klaus stayed wrapped around him up until it was time to go back to their tent. Klaus was already sharing with Dave anyways, they all had to make due with a partner since they lacked space for everyone to have their privacy, but no one else was there to know they didn’t make use of both the bed rolls. It was nothing extreme, and they didn’t go all the way that time. Klaus ended up blacked out way before Dave at any rate, which was understandable given how much he’d drank.

When they woke up in the morning, Dave worried for a brief second he’d taken advantage to Klaus. The man had been gassed, after all, and even if he’d kissed Dave first, Dave should’ve been responsible enough to wait till the other was sober. Those thoughts lasted up until Klaus regained consciousness as the sun rose and started his day by grabbing Dave and kissing him even harder than he’d done the previous night.

Klaus had actually laughed in his face when Dave expressed any concern about taking advantage, and blew off the amount he’d drank by saying he’d done worse. Dave was sure he had, but he didn’t really care. Klaus was more or less sober now except for the weed and alcohol.

Withdrawal had been a bitch to go through, and it had pained Dave to see Klaus suffer, but it had been a necessity. Harder drugs weren’t readily available, and even for the rest of their time in Saigon the other man had given in to Dave’s pleading eyes and settled on smoking a blunt and making out in their tent. Dave couldn’t bear to go through the process again; he would if he had to, for Klaus, but seeing the other man shake and vomit and plead for a hit...it had taken a lot out of him. Dave had tried to be strong and be a shoulder to lean on, but he’d get on his knees and beg if it meant Klaus wouldn’t go back to the heavier stuff.

Not to say Klaus had given up all his vices. The man still drank like a fish; the amount of liquor he could down was as impressive as it was horrifying. He could also, in fact, smoke an entire blunt or four and be fully functional. His tolerance was legendary, and after their first week in Saigon none of the regiment ever challenged him to a drink or smoke off ever again.

Personally, Dave wasn't big on substance abuse, but getting high during his down time and cuddling with Klaus was probably one of his better ideas, if he was honest. Anything to see that dopey little smile and pretty green eyes that lit up whenever Dave would tickle his sides.

Dave had fallen fast and hard, and so had Klaus. He knew, though, that the end of their story wasn’t a happy one. When he’d met Klaus, and older and wiser version of the man he so loved, he couldn’t fathom the pain in the hippie’s eyes and couldn’t begin to imagine what put it there. He knew now; losing Dave had broken Klaus and Dave understood that perfectly. Having a love like this and losing it? That’d be worse than dying, and Dave almost felt guilty for putting Klaus through that _again_.

He had two months left when Klaus noticed him getting antsy. He pushed for information in as subtle a way as Klaus knew how, but Dave just smiled and said it was the war getting to him. Sometimes Klaus had a look in his eyes, like he wanted to suggest an idea but hesitated, and Dave ignored it for both their sakes. It had been the best eight months of his life, after all, and nothing could ruin it. Even in the blood soaked nightmare they’d found themselves in, nothing in his life before this topped being with Klaus.

When the time came, and they arrived in the A Shau Valley, Dave knew this was it. He would die here. It was towards the end of the fighting, the shots fired had died down some, and he and Klaus were ducking behind a trench while they took turns shooting. He heard the crack and flinched violently, preparing for impact. He fell to the ground, in a serious state of shock, and looked up at Klaus’ face.

The other man...was on top of him?

It vaguely registered that he felt no pain as he watched a blossom of blood stain Klaus’ uniform, spreading rapidly all over his shoulder.

”Baby...what did you-?” Dave’s hands fluttered uselessly, still laying on his back in the wet mud, wondering if maybe Klaus remembered after all, “How’d you know-?”

”Didn’t-“ Klaus wheezed out, “Didn’t know. You were nervous and I-I was scared you’d miss a shot coming at you and-“

He chuckled a little before the pain finally hit him and he collapsed on top of Dave, “I was right, huh?”

”This-This wasn’t supposed to-“ He saw Klaus’ eyes flutter, “Don’t you dare, Ghostie! Shit-!”

He flipped them around gently so Klaus was cradled in his arms, eyes welling up, “Medic! _Medic_! We need a damned medic!”

No one came, and he was left holding his bleeding...what? Boyfriend? Lover? His world. By now the shooting had ceased and all the medics were preoccupied, scouring the field and doing everything from cutting off limbs to in the field surgeries.

Klaus gasped as Dave put a hand over the wound, stemming the flow of blood if only a little. From the looks of it an artery could have been hit. It looked like Klaus had hours, not days, left.

”It’s okay, babe, it’s okay.” Klaus coo’d in a tired, slurred speech, “I’ll wait for you, yeah? Shit, will I really be a ghost now? Fuck, I don’t wanna be screaming my way through the afterlife.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Dave hissed, tears leaking out the corners of his eyes.

”Whoa, hey, don’t cry.” Klaus gasped a little, disoriented as he was suddenly lifted into Dave’s lap, “Y’know, I’d have like to get married before I go, babe. Real sweet, I know, but I guess that’s not legal yet. Fuckin’ homophobes.”

”We’ll have all the time in the world later, doll, but first we gotta get you taken care of.” Dave ignored the nonsense being spouted and looked up again, “Medic!”

“Katz!” He heard Williams shout, “Is that Hargreeves?”

”Yeah, yes, he’s bleeding a lot.” Dave scrambled back and gently returned Klaus to the ground so the medic could get a good look at him.

”No artery was hit.” Williams muttered as he wrapped the wound tight.

”What?” Dave asked, eyebrows raising, “There’s so much...I mean, how do you know?”

”Cause if he’d severed his brachial artery he’d be flying high by now, Katz.” Williams snapped, “Now keep quiet.”

Well, Dave never claimed to be a doctor. He kept his mouth shut as the medic looked the injured man over. Klaus was unconscious by the time they headed for camp, Dave helping Williams cart him back without disrupting the wound too much.

He could only hope they’d both make it out of here alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably very inaccurate to the time period, but I tried to get some of the slang right. Most of the story will focus on them in the modern time and Five picking Dave’s brain about their so called meeting in the 60s lmao.
> 
> Hope you liked Dave inadvertently saving the world! Vanya puts the apocalypse on hold for her brother ;)
> 
> Next chapter should probably be out soon, there’ll probs be like 4 or 5 total. Maybe 6.


End file.
